The Student Clinic at OCHT is a therapeutic treatment-based clinic. The students are constantly acquiring skills preparing them to enter into clinical practice. They appreciate the opportunity to share their skills with you, and to practice their ever-growing skill set on patients in order to prepare for entry into practice.
A complete treatment process for a Registered Massage Therapist involves engaging in a detailed health history interview, a focused orthopaedic assessment, a therapeutic treatment using a variety of treatment methods, and follow-up home care involving stretches and strengthening exercises.
In order for you and for the students to benefit maximally from this experience, please respect the student therapist’s need to adhere to this treatment model. Whether you are new to our clinic or have visited numerous times, a health history interview and assessment are necessary on each visit, both to assist learning and to create a treatment focus for each visit to the clinic. If you have repeat appointments with the same therapist, the time needed for the intake process may decrease.
Our students therefore are required to work with a specific framework in the Student Clinic. All appointments are 60 minutes in length. Your appointment looks as follows:
A 20-minute Health History Interview and Orthopedic Assessment:
An in-depth discussion about your primary presenting complaint and a hands-on assessment including numerous tests to determine the cause and extent of presenting symptoms. Shorts and t-shirt or similar attire is beneficial for the assessment due to the nature of the testing performed.
A 35-minute Treatment:
The treatment may involve traditional massage techniques or may involve techniques such as assisted stretching, joint mobilization, or other treatment methods where treatment is administered while patients wear clothing, such as shorts and a t-shirt or similar attire.
A 5-minute Home Care follow up discussion/demonstration:
This many involve demonstration of stretches or strengthening exercises that will supplement the treatment.
****For both Health/Safety and Insurance purposes, patients are prohibited from bringing minors under the age of 16 to clinics. There is an exception only if an instructor requests a minor for the purposes of Infant/Child techniques relevant to the profession of Massage Therapy. In those specific circumstances the patient must supervise the minor at all times. At no time is the minor allowed to be unaccompanied. If during the specific treatment the minor becomes a distraction to the learning or presents any safety risk to themselves or others, they will be asked to leave the premises.